Manatee County Agriculture, Yesterday and Today
Agriculture has always been a stable force and
a major contributor to the economy of both Florida and Manatee
County and continues in importance as growers produce food throughout
the year to feed not only Florida residents, but also other areas
of the nation and world. Less than 50% of the land in Manatee
County is now in agriculture, including crops, pasture land and
reforestation, or in county ownership. We are losing over
10,000 acres per year from agriculture as land is being converted
to development to provide housing for the rapid influx of new
residents. Manatee County’s population has increased from
4,463 residents in 1900, to 34,704 in 1950, 264,002 in 2000 and
approximately 300,000 today.
The
annual impact of agriculture on the economy of Manatee County is estimated
at over $500 million. Manatee County ranks in the top ten of Florida’s
67 counties in agricultural sales. Agriculture in Manatee County is not
only large and diverse, but it is carried out in one of the most complex areas
in the nation, with an abundance of pest and weather problems, increasing urbanization,
foreign competition, and state and federal rules and regulations. In
spite of these challenges, it continues to survive.
Agriculture
has seen many changes over the years in commodities, transportation and technology. Early
commodities in Manatee County included turpentine, sugarcane, cotton, pineapple,
lettuce, tomatoes and gladiolus. Of these, only gladiolus and tomatoes
are still produced commercially today in Manatee County.
Vegetable Crop Production
In Manatee
County, vegetable production is the number one agricultural enterprise. There
are approximately 28,000 acres grown each year at an annual farm-gate value
of over $280 million and an economic impact of over $373 million. Tomatoes
are “king”, with over 12,000 acres grown annually at an estimated impact of
$200 million. Manatee County produces approximately 40% of the tomatoes grown
in Florida, which in turn produces over 70% of all fresh market tomatoes grown
in the US. Potatoes, cabbage, watermelon, peppers, cucumbers, snap beans
and strawberries add another 14,000 acres. In the early 1920’s the top
five vegetable crops were lettuce, cabbage, peppers, celery and tomatoes. Today,
the top five crops include potatoes, watermelons, snap beans, cucumbers and
tomatoes.
Historically,
vegetable packinghouses were built along the rail lines as this was the primary
method of transporting fresh tomatoes out of the county. Packinghouses in Manatee
County pack and ship everything from tomatoes (round, plum, cherry and grape),
to peppers, cucumbers and cantaloupe. The tomato packinghouses each have
the capacity to grade and pack from 500 to over 1,000 acres each season.
Citrus Production
In
2006 Manatee County ranked 10th in the state in citrus acreage with 18,548
acres or over 2 million trees. Since 1996, growers have faced
many threats such as the Medfly, citrus diseases (including citrus canker and
greening), lower fruit prices and conversion of land from agriculture to urban
use. As a result, the total citrus acreage has decreased by approximately
3,374 acres since 2002 and by over 5,700 since 1996. The 2005-2006 on-tree
value was $38.9 million for approximately 7.1 million boxes which is more than
634 million pounds of fruit.
Manatee County fruit is produced primarily for processing in
juice or concentrate. Tropicana is one of the state’s
largest processors. Early and mid-season oranges comprise
about 55% of the crop. Late season Valencia oranges total
41% with the remaining 4% made up of grapefruit, tangerine and
tangelo varieties. Citrus by-products, including citrus
peel, is made into cattle feed, oils, flavors and essences.
Livestock and Forage
Production
Manatee
County utilizes over 200,000 acres in the livestock production business. Livestock
enterprises consist of beef (cow-calf production), dairy, horses and other
animals. Estimates currently include over 53,000 head of beef cattle,
3,000 head of dairy cattle and 2,000 horses. Sheep, goats and llamas
are considered hobby livestock, primarily raised on ranchettes. We
rank 10th in the state in number of beef cattle with market receipts of over
$18 million annually. The dairy industry ranks 11th in the state with
annual receipts of over $15 million. The estimated value of hobby
livestock is over $3 million, bringing the total value of the livestock industry
to over $36 million.
Feed production
consists of semi- to well-improved pastures. Over 7,000 acres of hay
and 2,500 acres of silage and haylage are produced each year. There are
over 470 beef producers and 4 dairies which average over 500 head per dairy. The
equine industry ranges from modern-day breeding stables, riding and boarding
stables/schools, and show horses, to the working cow horse.
Ornamental
Horticulture
Ornamental
horticulture is the fastest growing component of the agriculture industry in
Manatee County, ranking 9th in the state in ornamental sales at a value of
over $74 million. The nursery industry is composed of about 175
nurseries of various sizes. Manatee County has over 2,000 acres
of sod produced annually. There
are 190 acres of foliage crops with a value of over $10 million. Container-grown
woody ornamentals encompass 750 acres with over $8 million in annual sales. In
addition, there are 900 acres of field grown trees and shrubs and over 1,000
acres of floral crops at an estimated value of $10 million. Add to this
the value from the landscape maintenance, pest control companies and retail
operations and the income generated by this industry is approximately $245
million.
Commercial Fishing
Manatee
County commercial fishermen annually harvest over 3 million pounds of fish
valued at over $5 million. The net-ban amendment that went
into effect in 1995 eliminated the inshore fisheries that primarily
targeted mullet, reducing landings by 70%. The mullet fishery had been
a mainstay of the Cortez community for over 100 years. Mullet is now
caught with hand-thrown cast nets. Cortez is struggling to maintain its
heritage as a working waterfront.
Grouper
and snapper remain important offshore fishing species. Most grouper are
harvested from deeper waters (greater than 100 feet) off the west Florida continental
shelf. Bait shrimping also remains an important fishery. Additionally,
small quantities of food shrimp, stone crab and blue crab are harvested.
Forest Products
Forest land
in Manatee County is decreasing at an ever increasing rate. At the turn
of the century (1900), with a large portion of Manatee County owned by various
timber companies, the turpentine industries boomed. In the late 1920’s,
several state-of-the-art sawmills were in operation. Today, there are
only two very small sawmills in Manatee County. Although the economic
impact is hard to estimate, the last comprehensive survey
was completed in 1990 and showed an overall impact of over $5 million.
Source: UF IFAS, and Manatee
County Extension Service, 2006
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